Dublin Core

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This is part of a lengthy presentation of historical dances by "Veronica's Vagabonds," Veronica McClure, director; recorded May 19, 1985, at Kramer's Hayloft, South Weymouth, Massachusetts.

The narrator introduced the dance with these words: "In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, the quadrille, a square dance, became popular. The couples take turns dancing, showing off their fancy French steps while the others wait, perhaps bored, perhaps chatting, perhaps flirting. Jane Austen's books tell us about these dances and their importance in the social order.

"Since there are usually four or five parts, each with repeats, a complete quadrille could easily take twenty minutes to dance. Dancers were supposed to memorize their parts and pay attention so they could remember when it was their turn.

"In our sample, we will do only one repeat of the part called Pantalon and one repeat from Poule, so bear in mind that this is a very short version of the dance."